Richard Branson and Virgin join forces with Hyperloop One

Today, the Virgin Group has announced that it has invested in Hyperloop One, the startup that recently demonstrated a working prototype of the travel system. As well as cash, and the involvement of Sir Richard Branson, the company will re-brand as Virgin Hyperloop One in the near future. In a statement, Branson described the technology as the “world’s most revolutionary train service.”

The strength of the Virgin brand, coupled with the speed at which Hyperloop One has developed its prototype, augurs well for the future of travel. Branson is a brand-name CEO with deep connections all across the world, which should reduce political resistance to an upstart business. It’s not clear just how much cash Branson has put into the business, but the company’s last funding round stood at around $85 million.

Branson’s involvement will also raise eyebrows in his homeland, who will be delighted to see the trip between London and Edinburgh cut to under 50 minutes. On the other hand, Brits are already well-aware how Branson runs a train service, and the reviews for Virgin Trains on Trustpilot are a sea of one-eyed invective. Hopefully the far shorter journey times will soothe the clear nervousness about sky-high prices and lackluster customer service.

Source: Virgin Group

Essential’s ‘Pure White’ phone arrives after two-month delay

The Essential Phone may be a beautiful blank slate, but it was also always a black one. Until now. The company has finally readied its ‘Pure White’ option both at its own online store as well as the likes of Best Buy and Amazon. It’s taken two months of delays for the color to arrive — which might sound familiar to anyone that remembers Apple’s own white iPhone issues several years back. Essential hasn’t offered up any reasons for the delay.

Welcome the newest Essential Phone: Pure White. Now available on https://t.co/5XqZeQu9cW and through partners @Amazon @BestBuy @Sprint. pic.twitter.com/lVZD29hLjz

— Essential (@essential) October 11, 2017

The benefit for those that held out for the white option include the arrival of a camera update that promises better low-light photos and faster response times. However, it also means, two months later, that you’re comparing your brand new preordered phone (that launched in September), against the likes of the iPhone 8 and the Pixel 2. Or, if you’re all about the notches, that other iPhone. The other two color options, Stellar Gray and Ocean Depths, are still labelled as “available soon.”

Source: Essential (Twitter)

Paris wants all gas-powered cars out of the city by 2030

The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, has already announced plans to remove all diesel cars from the roads of the French capital by 2024. Now she’s adding gasoline-powered vehicles to her list. Today, the Evening Standard reports that Parisian authorities announced plans to ban all combustion-engine cars, including those powered by gasoline, from the city’s roads by the year 2030. Christophe Najdovski, one of Paris’s transportation officials, told the radio station France Info, “Transport is one of the main greenhouse gas producers . . . so we are planning an exit from combustion engine vehicles, or fossil-energy vehicles, by 2030.”

Paris is just the latest place to move forward on restricting vehicles powered by fossil fuels. Oxford may start banning some gas and diesel cars as soon as 2020. However, most of the bans have focused on sales rather than the vehicles themselves. France as a whole has announced their intention to end gasoline and diesel car sales by 2040; the UK followed suit not too long after that. China has also announced a ban on the sale of vehicles powered by fossil fuels, but its timeline is uncertain.

Source: France Info, Evening Standard

Popular Drag and Drop Mac App ‘Yoink’ Now Available for iOS

Eternal Storms today released Yoink for iOS, a new mobile version of the popular drag-and-drop Mac app. On iOS 11, Yoink acts like a convenient shelf for users to drag in files and other content, do something else (switch apps, tabs, and so on) and then easily access those items again by dragging them out of Yoink.

Yoink works best as a Slide-Over or Side-by-Side app that can be used to drop items into temporarily. Almost anything that can be dragged in iOS 11 is accepted by Yoink. It’s also possible to paste clipboard contents into the app shelf, while a share extension allows users to send items directly to Yoink from any app.

Yoink attempts to create a rich preview for every item users add, so that, at a glance, easy identification is possible (for example, web link items show part of the website and map locations show a preview using Apple Maps). A detailed preview, by tapping onto the item, is possible for most items.

Note that while Yoink also works on iPhone, it does not support drag and drop, as iOS 11’s drag and drop functionality is not available on the device. The clipboard and sharing functionality works just like on iPad, however.

Yoink is available on the App Store for $2.99 in a limited time deal (regular price $4.99). The app is localized in English, German, Japanese, Korean, and Simplified Chinese, with
more languages will follow. To celebrate the release of Yoink for iOS, the Mac version of Yoink has also been reduced for a limited time ($4.99, usually $6.99).

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Tim Cook Travels to Sweden to Visit Local Apple Office and Discuss Augmented Reality [Updated]

After first traveling around France earlier in the week and meeting with French president Emmanuel Macron, then heading to Oxford University in the United Kingdom for the opening of The Oxford Foundry, Apple CEO Tim Cook has now traveled to Stockholm, Sweden today. Just after 9 a.m. local time, Cook was spotted getting out of a black, unmarked Mercedes in Stockholm.

Cook was on Kungsgatan, a street in central Stockholm where Apple’s office is located within the city, and an eyewitness speaking to Breakit [Google Translate] said that the CEO traveled with “a whole entourage” into the building, then “rushed out” a few hours later. Cook is likely making the usual rounds to other Apple locations, including potentially checking on the progress of Apple’s upcoming flagship store in Kungsträdgården, a park located near Apple’s offices in the city.

Photos by TT and Jon Wahlqvist, via Breakit

“He had a whole entourage around as he walked across the street,” says an eyewitness to Breakit. Tim Cook and his co-workers entered the gateway to Apple’s Stockholm office. A few hours later, the Apple boss rushed out of the building again.

Breakit’s reporter Jon Wahlqvist asks Tim Cook what he does in Stockholm. However, the Apple boss did not seem to be interested in addressing any such details: “The only thing he said was terrific, terrific, terrific and gave up his thumb. From the car he then waved in the nearest presidential style, “says Jon Wahlqvist.

Cook also stopped to discuss augmented reality with Feber [Google Translate], where he explained that the first few apps using ARKit are comparable to the opening of the App Store in 2008. Even though this first wave of apps might not wow everyone, Cook said that eventually iPhone users will not be able to “imagine a life without” augmented reality. Cook has made similar AR-related comments for years now, and just this week sat down with The Independent and Vogue to discuss the topic even more in-depth.

I do not think they need to understand, not directly. I would like to compare it with when we opened the App Store 2008. When the first apps came out, people were not so impressed. I remember people wrote things like “this is not so amazing” and “this will not be so important”. Today, we can not imagine a life without mobile apps and we use them for everything.

I think we’ll see a similar curve that we saw with the usual apps. After a first phase, the curve of use will point straight up. AR is fundamentally different to VR because AR can be a part of everything you do, every day.

The interview further discusses how AR can “enhance” human experiences and day-to-day life without replacing anything, as well as how the technology needs to coexist with Apple’s initiatives in the artificial intelligence space. Cook also continued championing students learning to code: “I think everyone who goes to school should learn how to code, but I do not think everyone should be a computer engineer. I think the knowledge to know what’s possible is the most important, whether you’re a fashion designer or journalist or whatever it is.”

Update: Tim Cook has also visited with Iggesund Paperboard, a manufacturer of high quality virgin fiber paperboard and Apple’s partner in sustainable packaging.

A visit to the breathtaking forests of northern Sweden with @IggesundAB, our partners in innovation and sustainable packaging. pic.twitter.com/STYKFQ8LZt

— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) October 12, 2017

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Yale Releases Its First Smart Locks With HomeKit Support

Yale today announced it is releasing its first two smart locks with support for Apple’s HomeKit platform.

Both the Assure Lock SL (YRD256) and Assure Lock Key Free Touchscreen Deadbolt (YRD246) will soon be available with an iM1 Network Module preinstalled, which adds HomeKit compatibility out of the box.

Yale is also releasing the iM1 Network Module separately for customers that wish to add HomeKit support to an Assure Lock they already purchased.

Installing the module can be done by removing the battery cover and batteries, snapping the module into place, and enrolling the module by following these steps:
Enter the master PIN code and tap the gear.
Tap 7 and tap the gear.
Tap 1 and tap the gear.HomeKit support will enable users to lock and unlock their homes with Apple’s Home app on an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch running iOS 10 or later. Homeowners can also use Siri voice commands, such as “Hey Siri, lock the front door.”

Assure locks feature a backlit capacitive touchscreen keypad for keyless entry. If a smartphone is unavailable, users can enter a unique 4-8 digit PIN code to enter the home.

With the companion Yale Secure app, users are able to check battery status, manage up to 250 unique 4-8 digit PIN codes, see current lock status, customize lock settings, name a lock, and add a new lock.

Locking and unlocking away from home requires a fourth-generation Apple TV or later, or an iPad with iOS 10.3 or later, set up as a home hub.

The locks are powered by four AA batteries included, or users can touch a 9V battery to the terminals at the bottom as a backup option.

The new Assure Lock SL and Assure Lock Key Free Touchscreen Deadbolt with the iM1 Network Module should be available on Amazon by Monday, October 16 for $249.99 and $199.99 respectively. Prices vary.

The module will be available for $49.99 at major retail stores in the United States and Canada, including Best Buy and Lowe’s, starting October 16.

Tags: HomeKit, Yale
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Gaming Hardware Maker Razer Teases Smartphone Announcement Coming November 1

Razer this week has Tweeted a teaser image for what appears to be a handheld device, with speculation circling that the image hints at the company’s announcement of its first smartphone. Razer said that the official debut of the product will happen on November 1, calling the device reveal its “biggest unveiling” yet (via 9to5Google).

WATCH for our biggest unveiling…
👁️https://t.co/gwrwrxbhf9 pic.twitter.com/OyBFVocHOF

— RΛZΞR (@Razer) October 11, 2017

The new teaser image emphasizes the word “Watch,” and includes a collection of background screenshots of what appear to be clips from various video games. Razer is mostly known for its gaming laptops and PCs, but the company did launch a handheld product a few years back called the Razer Edge Pro that attempted to merge high-end PC gaming in the form of a portable tablet device.

Earlier this year Razer acquired smartphone company Nextbit, sparking the first rumors that the gaming hardware maker could be interested in building a dedicated smartphone for its users. A report by Bloomberg over the summer further cemented these rumors, stating that Razer was planning to develop a “mobile device tailored for its consumer base of hardcore gamers.”

Razer invites those interested to visit its website and sign up for updates about the announcement ahead of the November 1 product unveiling.

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Apple Wins Approval for $1 Billion Data Center in Ireland

Apple has won approval to build a $1 billion data center in the west of Ireland, successfully fending off an environmental legal challenge brought by local residents (via Reuters).

Ireland’s High Court on Thursday ruled that the proposed data center in Galway county, planned by Apple since February 2015, could proceed despite locals’ various environmental concerns for the area if Apple successfully built the facility.

The residents against Apple attempted to halt construction last November by claiming that the permission it was granted by independent planning body An Bord Pleanála was invalid.

They alleged that An Bord Pleanála hadn’t performed a proper environmental impact assessment of the proposed data center at Derrydonnell. Apple successfully asked the High Court to fast-track the case, and today’s approval will likely bring the legal proceedings to an end.

When Apple announced the Irish data center in 2015, it also announced one for Denmark. That center is expected to begin operations later this year.

Tags: data center, Ireland
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iPhone X Supply Revised Lower Yet Again as TrueDepth System Still Faces Production Issues

A new report today yet again suggests that customers looking to get an iPhone X this year might face quite the challenge.

Jeff Pu, an analyst with Taipei-based Yuanta Investment Consulting, has cut his forecast of the number of iPhone X devices that will be produced this year from 40 million units to 36 million. It’s the second time he has revised down his estimate, which originally totaled 45 million earlier this year.

The underlying reason is that Apple’s suppliers are still struggling to perfect manufacturing of the iPhone X’s TrueDepth camera and 3D facial recognition system, according to Japan’s Nikkei Asian Review. We first heard about the production issues from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo a few weeks ago.

Multiple reports have claimed it has taken more time to assemble the TrueDepth system’s so-called “Romeo” module than the “Juliet” module.

The “Romeo” module reportedly includes the dot projector that beams more than 30,000 invisible dots to create a precise depth map of your face, while the “Juliet” module includes the infrared camera that analyzes the pattern. Together, they help power new iPhone X features such as Face ID and Animoji.

Pu maintained his belief that the iPhone X will enter mass production in mid-October and begin to be shipped from China to the first wave of launch countries next week. iPhone X pre-orders begin Friday, October 27, just over two weeks from now. The device officially launches Friday, November 3.

Related Roundup: iPhone XTags: nikkei.com, TrueDepth, Jeff Pu
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Unsent text message accepted as valid will by Australian court

An unsent text has been accepted as an official will by a court in Queensland, Australia. The message, found in the drafts folder of a deceased man’s phone, indicated he wanted all his possessions to go to his brother and nephew, instead of his wife and son. The 55-year-old composed the text before taking his own life in October 2016, reports ABC News.

The man’s wife took the case to the Brisbane Supreme Court to manage her deceased husband’s estate. Her argument suggested the text was not valid because it was never sent. But, judge Susan Brown said the phrasing of the message (which included the words “my will”) indicated the man was of sound mind. In the text, he’d also directed for his ashes to be put “in the back garden,” and wrote that he had a “bit of cash behind TV and bit in the bank.” The decision also took into account evidence of the man’s fraught relationship with his wife.

The Queensland government advises that a valid will must typically be in writing and signed in front of two witnesses. But, a change in the law in 2006, allowed for less formal types of documents to be considered as well. A holographic will, without witnesses, being deemed acceptable isn’t a new phenomenon. For instance, the shortest will to historically be recorded was of a Czech man who scribbled “everything to wife” on his bedroom wall in anticipation of his death. A dying Canadian farmer’s will, etched onto the fender of a tractor he was trapped beneath, was also determined by the courts to be valid almost 70 years ago.

Via: ABC News